Size and growth modification in clownfish

Buston, Peter M.

doi:10.1038/424145a

Cited by 290 publications

(333 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…We found only a rise in submissive behaviour of helpers, and that they stayed further away from the breeding shelter, but no response of breeder aggression levels (Hamilton et al, 2005). Second, as under certain conditions fish can adapt their growth to their social situation (Buston, 2003), we expected a reduction in growth of helpers if the size difference to breeders is small. We indeed found such strategic growth adjustments, as male helpers grew more slowly when the size difference between them and the male breeder was small (Heg et al, 2004b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 64%

The relationship between social status, behaviour, growth and steroids in male helpers and breeders of a cooperatively breeding cichlid

Bender

Heg

Hamilton

et al. 2006

Hormones and Behavior

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We tested whether subordinate helper males of the Lake Tanganyika cooperatively breeding cichlid Neolamprologus pulcher show elevated excretion levels of the stress hormone cortisol and reduced levels of 11-ketotestosterone and testosterone when living in groups with a small breeder male, compared to similar helper males living in groups with a large breeder male, in a full-factorial repeated measures experimental design. We also measured the same hormones in breeder males with and without helper males. Previous research showed that the size difference between large male helpers and male breeders in groups of this species influences behaviour and growth decisions. Contrary to our expectation, no effect of the size-difference between helper males and breeder males on helper hormone levels was detected. Furthermore, helper males had similar hormone excretion levels to those of size-matched breeder males without helpers, and to small breeder males. There was no influence of egg laying on breeder male and helper hormone levels during the experiment. Interestingly, all three hormone levels were significantly lower in helpers showing elevated levels of submissive behaviour towards the breeders, independently of the size of the breeder males. The low cortisol levels suggest that helper males can successfully reduce stress by appeasing breeder males through submission. Furthermore, helper males showing a high level of submissive behaviour had lower levels of androgens than less submissive helpers, suggesting a lower reproductive potential in submissive helpers. We propose that helper submission may be used as an honest signal of reduced interest in reproduction towards the breeder male in this species.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 64%

The relationship between social status, behaviour, growth and steroids in male helpers and breeders of a cooperatively breeding cichlid

Bender

Heg

Hamilton

et al. 2006

Hormones and Behavior

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“…Many empirical studies have shown that animals are in fact capable of adjusting their behavior according to the anticipated responses of their social partners in a range of contexts. Examples include signaling systems (26), negotiation over care of offspring (27), restraint in competitive growth (28), and audience effects (29). However, few have considered the possibility that this kind of anticipation might lead to less cooperative outcomes among closer kin.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Explaining negative kin discrimination in a cooperative mammal society

Thompson

Cant

Marshall

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Kin selection theory predicts that, where kin discrimination is possible, animals should typically act more favorably toward closer genetic relatives and direct aggression toward less closely related individuals. Contrary to this prediction, we present data from an 18-y study of wild banded mongooses, Mungos mungo, showing that females that are more closely related to dominant individuals are specifically targeted for forcible eviction from the group, often suffering severe injury, and sometimes death, as a result. This pattern cannot be explained by inbreeding avoidance or as a response to more intense local competition among kin. Instead, we use game theory to show that such negative kin discrimination can be explained by selection for unrelated targets to invest more effort in resisting eviction. Consistent with our model, negative kin discrimination is restricted to eviction attempts of older females capable of resistance; dominants exhibit no kin discrimination when attempting to evict younger females, nor do they discriminate between more closely or less closely related young when carrying out infanticidal attacks on vulnerable infants who cannot defend themselves. We suggest that in contexts where recipients of selfish acts are capable of resistance, the usual prediction of positive kin discrimination can be reversed. Kin selection theory, as an explanation for social behavior, can benefit from much greater exploration of sequential social interactions.K in selection theory aims to understand how selection acts on social traits, such as altruism and selfishness, that affect the fitness of social partners and local group members (1, 2). The theory predicts that where animals can discriminate between more closely and less closely related individuals within their social group, they will preferentially direct altruism toward closer genetic relatives and aggression toward less closely related targets (1-3). Instances of such positive kin discrimination are taxonomically numerous and widespread (4), whereas reported examples of negative kin discrimination are rare (5, 6).Contrary to the predictions of traditional kin selection theory, we show below that banded mongooses exercise negative kin discrimination during attempts at eviction and that this result is not readily explained by inbreeding avoidance or local kin competition. However, a simple and very general sequential game model of selfish behavior that takes into account the possibility of active resistance on the part of recipients does provide a potential explanation for negative kin discrimination. We first describe the model and then test predictions of the model using our data. Explaining Negative Kin Discrimination: A ModelConsider the interaction between two individuals, the first of whom (player 1) may perform a selfish act at the other's expense, such as stealing a food item, killing offspring, or, in the case with which we are concerned, evicting the other from the territory or group. We suppose that this act entails some fitness cost to the act...

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“…Size and growth in anemonefish depend on the social rank of each individual [41]; thus larger females are not, in all cases, the oldest individuals in a population. Given that we do not know which females contributed to the larval pool prior to our sampling, we do not know whether the participation of larger and presumably older individuals in multiple breeding events can be sufficient to explain their increased contribution to population replenishment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Larger female fish contribute disproportionately more to self-replenishment

et al. 2012

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While chance events, oceanography and selective pressures inject stochasticity into the replenishment of marine populations with dispersing life stages, some determinism may arise as a result of characteristics of breeding individuals. It is well known that larger females have higher fecundity, and recent laboratory studies have shown that maternal traits such as age and size can be positively associated with offspring growth, size and survival. Whether such fecundity and maternal effects translate into higher recruitment in marine populations remains largely unanswered. We studied a population of Amphiprion chrysopterus (orange-fin anemonefish) in Moorea, French Polynesia, to test whether maternal size influenced the degree of self-recruitment on the island through body size -fecundity and/or additional size-related maternal effects of offspring. We non-lethally sampled 378 adult and young juveniles at Moorea, and, through parentage analysis, identified the mothers of 27 self-recruits (SRs) out of 101 recruits sampled. We also identified the sites occupied by each mother of an SR and, taking into account variation in maternal size among sites, we found that females that produced SRs were significantly larger than those that did not (approx. 7% greater total length, approx. 20% greater biomass). Our analyses further reveal that the contribution of larger females to self-recruitment was significantly greater than expected on the basis of the relationship between body size and fecundity, indicating that there were important maternal effects of female size on traits of their offspring. These results show, for the first time in a natural population, that larger female fish contribute more to local replenishment (self-recruitment) and, more importantly, that size-specific fecundity alone could not explain the disparity.

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Size and growth modification in clownfish

Cited by 290 publications

References 6 publications

The relationship between social status, behaviour, growth and steroids in male helpers and breeders of a cooperatively breeding cichlid

The relationship between social status, behaviour, growth and steroids in male helpers and breeders of a cooperatively breeding cichlid

Explaining negative kin discrimination in a cooperative mammal society

Larger female fish contribute disproportionately more to self-replenishment

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